Vehicles, such as many pickup trucks, vans, RVs, and SUVs, have cargo beds located at a considerable height above the ground level. This makes it difficult for many persons to climb into the vehicle and also difficult to lift many loads into the vehicle bed. For example, many persons have dogs which cannot jump into the truck or SUV bed, which can be 25–30 inches or more off the ground, and it can prove difficult to lift larger dogs (and other animals) to the necessary heights. Even some large dogs such as Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Labrador Retrievers have some difficulty jumping into and out of these types of vehicles. Many smaller breeds can't get in or out at all. As animals age, they become increasingly susceptible to arthritis, and their hips and elbows in this aging process makes getting in and out of vehicles even more difficult.
Also, many activities involve putting on or taking off boots, waders or other articles of clothing. It is oftentimes difficult to put on or remove these items while sitting on a seat or the back bumper; consequently there is a need for a device which also provides a seat for persons engaged in the foregoing and other tasks.
Steps or platforms (and other devices) intended to solve this problem have been proposed.
A vehicle step which has the advantage that it can be rotated between operative and stowed positions so that items may be left on the vehicle while the vehicle is moving is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,362, issued Apr. 14, 1998. This step, however, has a drawback; the step itself, and associate structure, must be lifted and rotated to move it between the operative and stowed positions. This can be cumbersome if the step is large or heavy; furthermore, only a keeper held in place by gravity retains the step in the position to which it is rotated. In rough terrain the keeper may bounce upwardly and allow the step to rotate out of the intended position, possibly damaging the device and causing other problems. Further, this device would be awkward to operate with only one hand.
Other products which have been tried, but failed to meet the need addressed by the present invention, include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
Pet Step Ramp-this product is a plastic molded ramp that be set on the bumper of the vehicle to allow a dog to walk up or down, into or out of the back of the vehicle. There are several problems with this product, in that, first, it would need considerable room behind the vehicle to allow the product to be used, and this space could be difficult to find in many urban parking situations. A further problem is where to stow the ramp when it is not being used.
Hitch extender step-this product does not extend as far back as the Pet Step Ramp, but has the added problem of protruding beyond the bumper if left in place while driving. If it is removed or replaced, between uses, the issue of storage becomes significant. Another problem is that the step is higher than may be useful since it is on the same level as the receiver of the hitch to which the device is mounted.
Receiver/Hitch Stairs—This product has more problems in addition to the ones that make the hitch/extender step unsatisfactory. Perhaps the most serious drawback is that the top step interferes with the back hatch of most vehicles, requiring it to be removed between uses.
Hitch Step—This product does not have the storage problems of the products above, but it is too small to be used effectively for the desired uses, such as for sitting on, to put on or take off boots, or to be used as a step for most dogs, or to be used to place objects upon.